Fantastic Friday

A few weeks ago was "Fantastic Friday" at the kids' school (also an Austin Elementary long-standing tradition). It's '50's day, but oh, so much more. As you can see, my kids go to one of those schools -- that doesn't do anything half-way. . .

The decorations are amazing -- moms (I NEVER sign up for this committee!) decorate the cafeteria. It's really cute. Way in the back -- just past Riley's nose -- you can see one of the precious "cherry floats" made of small white trash cans, with pink balloons bubbling out of the top.


This is the kids' principal, Mrs. Scarbrough. She is wearing her cheerleading jumper from Cooper High School from when she was a cheerleader in the mid-'60's. We hate her. (I don't actually hate her -- another Steel Magnolias quote and reference!) We actually adore her. She's the best (and a good sport, as you can tell).







This is Riley and Jordan "cutting a rug". This picture reveals that Riley, like Ashley, REALLY gets into the dance part of '50's day. You'll also notice that Riley is in a minority of 2nd grade boys who seems to enjoy it. The dance is on the stage in the cafeteria. It's really cute.

The "photo op" for the day includes a '55 Ford Thunderbird convertible coupe that a man from our church brings every year. I still haven't figured out how he got into this, but he's been there every year since my kids have. The girls love being able to show off their poodle skirts. Fantastic Friday is ALWAYS in January, and even though we've had temps in the '70's and '80's, Fantastic Friday is also ALWAYS cold. If you look close, you can see that Riley's lips are pretty blue.

(from left) Whitney, Kara, and Ashley are "old pros" at Fantastic Friday. This is the first year that Ashley wanted a poodle skirt! Progress! I've noticed that in 4th grade, there's much more giggling, planning, and "intentionality" (my favorite word) about who you will dance with. I don't even want to know what 5th grade is like!







I have known that Ashley is tall for her grade. I hope she stays tall, but I was one of the tallest in my 5th grade class. 5'1" -- where I stayed until I was 16 and got all the way up to 5'3". Ashley is 4'11". Here, she's dancing with (I think his name is Josh) who is about 4'6". They were having a great time.








Ashley's class for the picture. And a grand time was had by all.